Winston Peters, the leader of NZ First, has slammed David Seymour, questioning his ‘Māori-ness’ and the Act leader’s commitment to Māori causes.

In an interview with Moana Maniapoto on Te Ao with Moana, Peters said: “David Seymour discovered his Māori-ness the same way Columbus discovered America, purely by accident.”

Peters, who’s hoping to usher NZ First back into government at the upcoming general election, spent much of the interview emphasising his party’s significance and avoiding questions about other political entities, but when pressed on Seymour, he fired back.

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National’s Hamilton East candidate Ryan Hamilton says no red flags were raised by the party regarding his historical comments opposing water fluoridation and Covid-19 vaccine mandates.

Hamilton told the Herald his opposition to using fluoride, which included saying it was pointless because “most lower socio economics fill their tap water with Raro”, was not raised during the candidate selection process.

His views on the approach to Covid-19, which included opposing restricting unvaccinated people from council buildings and claiming coroner reporting was seemingly used to “inflate death numbers for the propaganda machine” were addressed but no one from the party was concerned, Hamilton claimed.

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What really happened in the room at Act's hijacked campaign launch? What have the leaders said about a fluoride controversy involving a candidate? And how are they prepping for the debate tomorrow?

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Luxon, at a media conference on Monday, appeared not to be aware of Hamilton’s more recent anti-fluoride comment from 2016.

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Chris Hipkins has arrived at the Tauranga Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. 

 He will discuss with experts the issues and research around poor dental care and its impact on the health system.

Peters’ experience as Treasurer (assuming most of the key roles of the Finance Minster including delivering a budget) in the final term of the Bolger Government was a persistent theme.

He was unhappy at being left out of a finance debate in Queenstown last week, sponsored by Australian-owned ASB.

“Doesn’t ask a guy from NZ First!” Peters said to the crowd, adding he was the only one who knew how to run the economy, having shepherded New Zealand through the Asian Financial Crisis as Treasurer, although Peters left the government midway through.

He took aim at the Australian-owned banks.

“Ned Kelly is not over here with his banks being a charity,” Peters said.

He said New Zealand had not had banking inquiries like those in Australia, although Peters was part of the 2017-2020 Labour-led government that launched a conduct and culture inquiry into banks. The current government has begun a market study into banking.

Peters recycled some of his greatest hits speaking to a crowd of supporters on Wellington’s Kapiti Coast.

He took aim at private of the local airport, referenced the 1990s Winebox Inquiry, and complained at being left out of debates and media interviews.

Peters was particularly unhappy at not being included in a new RNZ series “Grilled” in which the leaders of National, Labour, the Greens, and Act cook with RNZ host Charlotte Cook.

RNZ’s website said that NZ First was asked to participate, but declined.

“I found that one of our mainstream media outlets is going to have a cooking programme on… paid for by you!” Peters said.

“They’re taking the four leaders and they’re going to have a cooking lesson - in a cost of living crisis? What planet are they on?” he said to a chairing crowd.

On tomorrow night's debate, Hipkins would not give away his plan. "I have not spent a huge amount of time preparing for the debate," he said, but he would focus on it later today and tomorrow.

He said he had not done a dress rehearsal scenario that involved a fake Christopher Luxon filling in.

"I would encourage the Destiny Church, in particular, to get out of the way of democracy."

On the protesters at Act's conference, he said he urged the Freedoms group to let other political parties have their say. "I would encourage the Destiny Church, in particular, to get out of the way of democracy."He had not got on the phone to leader Brian Tamaki, saying he did not think Tamaki would have any interest in such a conversation with him.

Hipkins is being pressed about a Labour list candidate who has apparently been posting conspiracy theories about the HPV vaccine.

List candidate Deborah Rhodes was the person in question.

Hipkins said Ryan Hamilton's previous anti-fluoride comments are for Luxon to answer for.

He said it was a matter for Luxon whether to act against Ryan Hamilton, but "he's set very high standards for others" and it was up to him to decide whether to adhere to the same standards.

Hipkins said Ryan Hamilton's views aligned with conspiracy theories.

He said politicians should be allowed to change their minds over time, but people with conspiracist views often don't change their opinions.

Labour Party leader Chris Hipkins said New Zealanders deserve to know what the National Party would cut to pay for their "unaffordable tax plan."

Labour housing spokesperson Meghan Woods said she is committing to solar panels for an extra 1000 Kāinga Ora homes.

"It is ambitious and deliverable."

"We can build resilience in our neighbourhoods," Woods said of trying to find ways to build homes against extreme weather events.

"We do have to ensure we're not just benefiting our tenants," Woods said.

Woods said there is a huge incentive for wind and solar to be part of the future, and there is a project underway at looking how to store energy when it is, for example, not sunny or windy.

Woods said it's not just individual homes that benefit from solar power and there's a wide public benefit for more environmentally friendly electricity.

"If we're going to decarbonise, we need to make sure we've got efficient homes."

Woods said there will be a capped amount of money for households for solar panels.

Woods said the Labour party is out and about talking to people every day, and that it showed their ambition to win.

"Elections aren't about coming up with Aces up the sleeve, it's about hard work."

The funding period for Labours solar policy is over four years.

Hipkins said for families who get solar on their roof it can be a "game-changer" for their electricity bills.

Hipkins said overtime the lifetime of owning a solar panel, families will likely save money on power bills despite the sometimes high upfront costs of the panels.

Hipkins said there was still a large group of undecided voters out there, and that's what campaigns were for.